Dead Sound & Videohead - Murder

Dead Sound & Videohead - Murder
Last summer, Dead Sound and Videohead dropped their first collaborative EP on Perc Trax, The Chosen, a gnarly little collection of broken beat techno whose accompanying artwork was, fittingly, a close-up shot of some machine gearing. This year, the mysterious duo is back with another five-track digital release, Murder. A meat grinder graces the cover this time, and it's a good indicator of what's inside. Brutal, rolling repetition is again on the menu, but there's plenty of texture to be found—if you're willing to get your hands dirty. Distorted vocal loops are a prominent feature, and they're used with particularly disturbing effect in the mantras of "Hear And Now." Things get more and more intense until "On Me," the most visceral track of the bunch, which uses angular slices of sound and a few clever transitions to build up a bone-crunching maelstrom.

Rounding out the release is a remix of "Hear And Now" from Chicago artist and promoter Jeff Derringer. His long and lean drones are worth getting lost in, and the sense of restraint is especially soothing after twenty excruciating minutes with Dead Sound and Videohead. Theirs is the sort of stuff that's rarely heard on today's prominent techno labels, but if you like Perc Trax, you'll probably find something to love about Murder.